Constructing Sexual Victimization: A Thematic Analysis of Reader Responses to A Literary Female-on-Male Rape Story on Goodreads

Figures & data

Table 1. Distribution of star ratings by gender.

	1 star	2 stars	3 stars	4 stars	5 stars
Female	(13)/3.03%	(33)/7.7%	(76)/17.7%	(143)/33.3%	(86)/20.04%
Male	(2)/0.5%	(3)/0.7%	(10)/2.33%	(17)/3.96%	(15)/3.5%
Unidentified	(2)/0.5%	(2)/0.5%	(6)/1.39%	(12)/2.79%	(8)/1.86%
Non-Binary	0	0	0	0	(1)/0.2%

Table 2. Coding scheme overview.

Main Themes	Sub-themes	Codes
1. Book Appraisal	1.1. Concept Appraisal	Different-Unique
		Interesting
		Satirical
		Significant
		Tough
		Weird-Complicated
	1.2. Social function of the book	Aligns with the #Metoo movement
		De-genders sexual violence
		Awareness raising potential of the book Exposes – criticizes social issues Exposes an unacknowledged social reality Exposes gendered stereotypes-rape myths
		Unsuccessful social commentary
2. Literary Evaluation	2.1. Genre	Concept and genre execution
		Poetic qualities
	2.2. Style-Format	Unfamiliarity Uniqueness of the book format
3. Depiction of female on male sexual violence	3.1. Focusing on female victimization
	3.2. Rape scenes	Detail Level Evaluation
	3.3. Realism	Breach of realism
		Depiction of rape culture
		Depiction of trauma from real victims
		Perceived realism of female rapist
4. Emotional Responses	4.1. Empathic distress	Discomfort/Distress, Sadness, Fear, Empathy, Disgust, Anger, Shock
	4.2. Narrative absorption	Difficult
		Partial
		Complete
	4.3. Personal memories
	4.4. Emotional states of positive and mixed valence	Impactful feelings, Being deeply moved, Enjoyment, Surprise, Hope, Curiosity
	4.5. Trigger warnings
5. Cognitive Responses	5.1. After-reading processing
	5.2. Comprehending the book	Gaining a new understanding toward rape issues
		Grappling with the meaning
	5.3. Lingering effect
	5.4. Thought provoking